Quebec Premier François Legault addressed his government’s controversial move to dismiss a backlog of 18,000 pending skilled worker applications Thursday, saying the province will prioritize 3,700 applications from candidates already working in the province on temporary permits.
The injunction was requested by an association of Quebec immigration lawyers that argued Quebec’s immigration minister is required by law to issue decisions on the pending applications and does not have the discretionary authority to refuse to do so.
The ombudsperson condemned the CAQ government’s disregard for the “life projects” that the applications represent and called on it to honour the applications from those already in Quebec.
14,300 overseas applicants who won’t be prioritized should have all application and language test fees refunded and receive a signed letter of apology from Quebec’s CAQ Immigration Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette.
According to Quebec authorities dismissing the application backlog was necessary so the government could focus on selecting candidates who have applied through Arrima, and reduce processing times from 36 months to six months.
